GBCA announces board changes

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has announced changes to its board of directors.

The council has appointed Tanya Cox, independent director and board member since 2013, as chair-elect. Cox will replace Grocon Executive Chairman Daniel Grollo, who steps down from the board at the December 2014 AGM.

“Tanya has vast experience in Australia’s property and investment sector, is an expert in governance and risk management, and is an inspiring strategic thinker who will help us to realise our ambitious strategic agenda,” said GBCA Chief Executive Romilly Madew.

“The GBCA is entering a new phase of growth, with an expanded range of rating tools and an emphasis on Green Star as the mark of quality for buildings and communities. Tanya’s expertise will support our efforts to embed Green Star into environment, social and governance reporting and into investment decision-making.

“I’d also like to applaud Daniel Grollo’s contribution over the last 12 years. As a founding board member of the GBCA and as our chair for two years, Daniel’s leadership has been instrumental in delivering the sustainable outcomes we now consider ‘business as usual’. Undoubtedly his personal passion for sustainability within the built environment has been a key enabler in much of what the GBCA has achieved to date,” Madew said.

Tarun Gupta, GBCA board member since 2013, will join Siobhan Toohill as a deputy chair. Gupta currently oversees Lend Lease’s development and investment management businesses in Australia.

The chief executive of the Property Council of Australia, Ken Morrison, was appointed to the GBCA board in August. Morrison’s appointment will add further strength to a board that already boasts many of the industry’s leaders in sustainability.

“Sustainability has been one of Australia’s fiercest political battlegrounds of recent years and the work of the GBCA has never been more relevant. In 2001, I was seconded in to help establish the GBCA, so this appointment completes a personal and professional circle for me,” Morrison says.